Philadelphia 76ers: Eastern Conference Finals Appearance

The Sixers have the pieces to make it there. They have their big 3 of Joel Embiid, Jimmy Butler, and Ben Simmons and good role players such as JJ Redick and Wilson Chandler. However, it will be tough because the East has 5 teams that could make it to the ECF and the Sixers lack depth at some positions. There are no guarantees.

 

Milwaukee Bucks: Finals Appearance

The Bucks are the best in the league right now. They have played great basketball so far and Giannis is a serious MVP candidate this season. The Bucks front office has surrounded Giannis with good shooters which creates space for Giannis to operate. However, they don’t have a ton of playoff experience so we’ll see if that holds them back. As of now, the Bucks goal should be to make the finals.

 

Chicago Bulls: Get First Overall Pick

The Bulls suck this season. They won’t make the playoffs and they should strive to get the first overall pick so they could draft Zion Williamson who is looking like he will be a future star in the NBA. Even that will be tough because there are a lot of teams with the same intentions.

 

Cleveland Cavaliers: Get First Overall Pick

The Cavs suck too. They should pretty much just get rid of bad contracts and tank to get better in the future.

 

Boston Celtics: Eastern Conference Finals Appearance

The Celtics are semi-title contenders. They have the team and the depth but they aren’t playing as well as they should, especially with everyone healthy. However, they have guys that have lots of playoff experience. Also, Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum have proved that they will show up in the playoffs. Unless they pick it up, the best I see them doing is an ECF appearance.

 

Los Angeles Clippers: Playoff Appearance

The Clippers have surprised everyone this season as they are a top ten team in the league. They are an inexperienced team so they might fall off in the playoffs but just making it without Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Deandre Jordan is a huge step forward for the organization.

 

Memphis Grizzlies: Playoff Appearance

The Grizzlies are on the verge of being in the playoffs in the Wild Western Conference. They have an incentive to tank because of the stacked draft class, but they haven’t made the playoffs since 2014 so they should try and make the playoffs.

 

Atlanta Hawks: Get First Overall Pick

The Hawks are not good at all. However, they have a bright future and getting a good pick this year would be perfect for them. The Hawks should continue to do bad.

 

Miami Heat: Rebuild

The Heat don’t have the pieces to contend and they don’t want to make the playoffs because it won’t do them much good. They should tank this season and trade away crappy contracts they have because they certainly have a lot of them.

 

Charlotte Hornets: Get Lottery Pick

Kemba Walker is good enough to keep the Hornets around the playoffs, but the Hornets should not want to make the playoffs because they will not make any noise. They should try and rebuild because they are nowhere near contending. A lottery pick will be a good start to that rebuild. The next steps are to trade away bad contracts but that isn’t a season goal.